Police Training and Specialized Approaches to Respond to People With Mental Illnesses

2003 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Hails ◽  
Randy Borum
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Special Unit ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Mobile Crisis

Eighty-four medium and large law enforcement agencies reported the amount of training provided on mental-health-related issues and the use of specialized responses for calls involving people with mental illnesses. Departments varied widely in the amount of training provided on mental-health-related topics, with a median of 6.5 hours for basic recruits and 1 hour for in-service training. Approximately one third of the agencies (32%) had some specialized response for dealing with calls involving people with mental illnesses. Twenty-one percent had a special unit or bureau within the department to assist in responding to these calls; 8% had access to a mental health mobile crisis team.

scholarly journals Law enforcement agencies’ approach to de-escalation: Incorporating a social services perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-70
Author(s):  
Lisa Deveau
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Canadian Law

In this critical review and social innovation narrative, we analyze the literature regarding Canadian law enforcement agencies’ approach to de-escalation and crisis intervention. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we consider how the skills and values of social work can be used to inform and train officers on essential skills such as de-escalation and conflict resolution. We look at the systemic barriers to bringing about change within Canadian police forces as the current culture continues to be influenced by colonization and law enforcement continues to value and endorse use of force over de-escalation. While services can benefit by applying an interdisciplinary lens when training officers, the factors that impede this union and collaboration are discussed and explored as police services are given immense discretion in how they train and respond to mental health crises. In conclusion, we examine the government’s role in perpetuating these issues.

Arrest-Conviction Barriers of Narcotic Law Enforcement Officers

1998 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis J. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Sociological Imagination ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Advanced Education ◽  
Service Training

To study the barriers of narcotic arrest-conviction rates, 255 narcotic officers were surveyed. It was argued that in-service training and advanced education among narcotic law enforcement officers was the major factor influencing narcotic arrest-conviction rates. While the data showed the hypothesis was supported, it showed that a lack of cooperation between law enforcement agencies, inadequate equipment/technology, and inexperienced prosecutors were greater predictors of arrest-conviction rates than well trained, educated officers. One implication of these findings is that the very nature of narcotic enforcement fosters a contradiction of law and order producing officer alienation. Further, narcotic officers fail to view themselves as part of a larger social structure furthering the sociological imagination perspective. One recommendation is that a state narcotic agency outside local jurisdiction be created to enforce all drug violations. Further research should be conducted concerning narcotic officer corruption and the war on drugs.

scholarly journals The “Gray Zone” of Police Work During Mental Health Encounters

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer D. Wood ◽  
Amy C. Watson ◽  
Anjali J. Fulambarker
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Gray Zone ◽  
Police Responses ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Core Features

Although improving police responses to mental health crises has received significant policy attention, most encounters between police and persons with mental illnesses do not involve major crimes or violence nor do they rise to the level of emergency apprehension. Here, we report on field observations of police officers handling mental health-related encounters in Chicago. Findings confirm these encounters often occur in the “gray zone,” where the problems at hand do not call for formal or legalistic interventions. In examining how police resolved such situations, we observed three core features of police work: (a) accepting temporary solutions to chronic vulnerability, (b) using local knowledge to guide decision making, and (c) negotiating peace with complainants and call subjects. Findings imply the need to advance field-based studies using systematic social observations of gray zone decision making within and across distinct geographic and place-based contexts. Policy implications for supporting police interventions are also discussed.

Roles and expectations for mental health professionals in law enforcement agencies

1977 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Brown ◽  
Barry R. Burkhart ◽  
Glen D. King ◽  
Roger Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies

scholarly journals Police Training in Practice: Organization and Delivery According to European Law Enforcement Agencies

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisanne Kleygrewe ◽  
Raôul R. D. Oudejans ◽  
Matthijs Koedijk ◽  
R. I. (Vana) Hutter
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Training ◽  
European Law ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Training Time ◽  
Personal Learning ◽  
Level Of Training ◽  
Administrative Structures ◽  
Available Resources

Police training plays a crucial role in the development of police officers. Because the training of police officers combines various educational components and is governed by organizational guidelines, police training is a complex, multifaceted topic. The current study investigates training at six European law enforcement agencies and aims to identify strengths and challenges of current training organization and practice. We interviewed a total of 16 police instructors and seven police coordinators with conceptual training tasks. A thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006; Terry et al., 2017) was conducted and results organized in the two main themes evident across all six law enforcement agencies: organization of training and delivery of training. Results show that governmental structures and police executive boards are seen as the primary authorities that define the training framework in which police instructors operate. These administrative structures regulate distant and immediate resources, such as available training time, training facilities, equipment, and personnel. Within the confines of available resources and predetermined training frameworks, results indicate that police instructors thoroughly enjoy teaching, creating supportive and motivating learning environments, and applying their personal learning perspectives to training. Nonetheless, police instructors are critical of the level of training they are able to achieve with the available resources.

scholarly journals Competences and Authority of the Corps of the Operative-Flash Action

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (29) ◽  
pp. 156-162
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Hryhorovych Hrytsenko ◽  
Olesia Yanivna Tragniuk ◽  
Volodymyr Mykolaiovych Vasyliev ◽  
Lesia Ihorivna Myskiv
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Special Unit ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level ◽  
National Police ◽  
Comprehensive Study

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive study of the competences and authority of the Corps of the Operative-Flash Action (KORD), as a special body implementing public security and order. The authors used the following methods of scientific knowledge when writing the article: formal logical; comparative analysis; systemic structural; formal legal; logical and normative. A comprehensive study of the competence and powers of KORD has been conducted in the article. It has been determined that the authority of this unit of the National Police of Ukraine are represented by a set of rights and obligations, and the competence includes its powers. The competence of this unit includes both rights and obligations fixed at the legislative level, and professional knowledge that a policeman must have at a high level and correctly apply it in his official activities. It has been argued that the KORD is provided with competence in order to consolidate the scope of the rights and powers of a police officer, which allows regulating the prohibition of going beyond its borders at the legislative level. The analysis of the existing regulatory framework and existing studies related to the competence of law enforcement agencies has been conducted. Three groups of rights of the KORD have been distinguished: 1) rights that directly contribute to the performance of official duties; 2) rights that have an indirect effect on the performance of the special unit employees’ duties; 3) the right to exercise constitutional rights and freedoms.

scholarly journals DIRECTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF TRAINING OF POLICE STAFF

2020 ◽  
pp. 244-251
Author(s):  
І. В. Серединський
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Police Cooperation

The scientific article examines the issues of areas of international cooperation in the field of police training. Emphasis is placed on the best practices of Western Europe, the United States and Canada. At first it was emphasized that in modern conditions there is a rapid development of international relations on the principles of integration and mutual enrichment, and not on the terms of rigid differentiation. It is determined that the interaction is especially evident in the field of international cooperation of European law enforcement agencies. The author found that international police cooperation is carried out in several main areas: 1) assistance in training for foreign law enforcement agencies; 2) joint research of problems of struggle against offenses; 3) exchange of experience in the field of police training; 4) provision of logistical and advisory assistance. Emphasis is placed on the fact that an important factor is the recognition by the international community among other areas and the need for cooperation in the field of personnel training. The author formulates the main directions of international cooperation in the field of police training, in particular: integration into international bodies and organizations in the field of police training; integration into international police educational institutions; integration into the education system of leading foreign educational institutions, study of experience, analysis of the work of structural units, study of the scale of social activity, the field of scientific research, etc .; creating conditions for the development of police education in a particular country with the help of international partners and the experience of foreign countries; provision-receipt on a mutual, and more often on a unilateral basis to foreign colleagues of means of equipment, communication, equipment for use in police training. Finally, it is noted that the most intensive and effective police cooperation is carried out by the police of highly developed countries with similar economic, political and social conditions, similar legal attitudes and principles of law enforcement.

scholarly journals Increasing Mental Health Literacy in Law Enforcement to Improve Best Practices in Policing—Introduction of an Empirically Derived, Modular, Differentiated, and End-User Driven Training Design

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Lorey ◽  
Jörg M. Fegert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Training Curriculum ◽  
End User

Objective: Law enforcement officers often have contact to persons who show symptoms of mental disorders. Adequately designed training is necessary for developing the best possible practices in policing when coming into contact with mentally ill people, and may help to expand their general knowledge on mental disorders. To achieve a sustainable implementation of training content in daily policing work, the acceptance and proactive integration of methods by the training participants is essential.Method: This study investigates an exemplary modular training curriculum based on a survey with 2,228 German police officers (28.2% female, 71.8% male) concerning their needs and challenges when coming into contact with persons with mental disorders. This empirical end-user driven approach was used to adapt existing training concepts to the current needs and interests of law enforcement personnel in order to maximize compliance.Results: The training program draft includes basic modules which are intended to be of direct interest to all police officers, such as mental disorders with high policing relevance, encountering suicidal patients, (non-directive) communication and de-escalation skills, and mental hygiene in policing. They are arranged in more specialized modules that address specific target group audiences within police forces and the training curriculum provides information about genuine risks and self-protection, trauma sensitivity, and interaction with children and victims among other contents. The self-selectable, modular, and empirically-based continued training program also includes an introduction to local mental health service professionals and networks, trialogue sequences, and situational role play scenarios.Conclusion: Due to frequent contact law enforcement officers have to mentally ill people, improved training designed to maximize knowledge and the integration of trained methods is necessary. Gaining acceptance and proactive support by trainees is ensured through end-user driven implementation of specialized and differentiated up-to-date training programs. Our results showcase how police officers' perspectives on persons with mental illnesses is a main aspect that can and should be used to encourage training course designs.

scholarly journals Police De-Escalation Training & Education: Nationally, Provincially, and Municipally

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-5
Author(s):  
Lisa Deveau
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Mandated Training ◽  
Environmental Scan ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Canadian Law

In this critical review and social innovation narrative, the current literature on de-escalation and policing is reviewed. The following explores how services train recruits and experienced officers on de-escalation, conflict resolution, and crisis intervention skills. A limited environmental scan was completed to inquire about the number of hours dedicated to de-escalation training compared with tactical and combative training within Ontario law enforcement agencies. The environmental scan also considered how services respond to imminent mental heath crises, as some services rely on mental health professionals to respond to 911 emergencies with police officers, through the Mobile Crisis Team. Within the literature, questions are proposed about the government’s role in overseeing policing, and why there fails to be any federally or provincially mandated training and approach to mental health and de-escalation within Canadian law enforcement. The author ultimately advocates for systemic change by highlighting the priorities, values, and contradictions within Canadian police services which have been influenced by colonization and patriarchal narratives.

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